Altstätten is a small historic rural town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the district

Rhine Valley Rhine Valley (German: ''Rheintal'' ) is the valley, or any section of it, of the river Rhine in Europe. Particular valleys of the Rhine or any of its sections: * Alpine Rhine Valley ** Chur Rhine Valley (or Grisonian Rhine Valley; , or sometimes ...

, in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

St. Gall Gall (; 550 645) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. However, he may have originally come from the border region betwe ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is located with some secure distance of about west from the

Alpine Rhine The Alpine Rhine Valley () is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the Alpine Rhine ( ), the part of the Rhine between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and Lake Constance. It covers three countries, with se ...

in the flat and wide St. Gall Rhine Valley, which also designates the border with

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It further gives access to the higher situated

Appenzell Appenzell () was a cantons of Switzerland, canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen, in existence from 1403 to 1597. Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered ...

to the west. The official language of Altstätten is (the Swiss variety of Standard)

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , ,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no #Conventions, defined orthography for any of them, many different spellings can be found. and others; ) is any of the Alemannic German, Alemannic ...

dialect.

Overview

The town consists of the following tracts: Alter Zoll, Altstätten, Bächis, Baumert, Bieser, Büeberg, Bühl, Bühl (Gätziberg), Bühl bei Hinterforst, Burgfeld, Bürglen, Burst, Domishäuser, Fidern, Gätziberg, Gfell, Hoher Kasten, Hub, Kornberg, Krans, Kreuzstrasse, Lithen, Lienz (

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

), Lüchingen, Mariahilf (monastery), Oberbüchel, Plona, Riet, Rosenhaus, Ruppen, Strick, Unterlitten, Warmesberg, Weidest und Ziel. Altstätten is situated between the town of St. Margrethen and the town of Buchs/SG, near to the border of Austria, at the foot of the Alpstein-Mountains. In Altstätten has the start of the rack-and-pinion railway line of the Appenzeller Trams to

Gais Gais () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The area of Gais is . In 1977, the village Gais received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage. The ...

. An electric

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

way served the town from 1897 until 1973,Buckley, Richard (2000). ''Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria'' (2nd edition), p. 23. Gloucester, UK:

Light Rail Transit Association The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), formerly the Light Railway Transport League (LRTL), is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to advocate and encourage research into the retention and development of light rail and tramway/streetc ...

. . operated by the ''Rheintaler Vekehrsbetriebe'', which also operated

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

es from 1940 to 1977,Murray, Alan (2000). ''World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia'', pp. 72, 85. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. . on a route to Berneck. Altstätten now operates a bus transport network, RTB. Supra-regional popularity was attained by Altstätten by its long and upscale Shrove-Tuesday tradition (carnival). Each January and February performances are held by the Röllelibutzen-club, founded in 1919, as well as many of the town's and region's Youth Music Societies. A highlight is the international parade, which attracts over 30'000 spectators from all of Switzerland.

History

Altstätten is first mentioned in 853 as ''Altsteti''.

Coat of arms

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is ''Or a bear passant Sable langued, armed and in his virility Gules and in chief a Mullet of Five of the last.''

Geography

Altstätten has an area, , of . Of this area, 63.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 21.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 12.7% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (2.9%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The municipality is the capital of the Rheintal ''Wahlkreis'' and formerly the capital of the Oberrheintal district. The traditional farming city is located on the western side of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

river between the Appenzell hill country.

Demographics

Altstätten has a population (as of ) of . , about 21.5% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Of the foreign population, (), 175 are from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, 228 are from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 1108 are from ex-

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, 143 are from

, 82 are from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, and 316 are from another country.Der Kanton St. Gallen und seine Menschen in Zahlen - Ausgabe 2009
accessed 30 December 2009 Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 3.5%. Most of the population () speaks German (89.0%), with Albanian being second most common ( 3.1%) and Serbo-Croatian being third ( 2.7%).
accessed 31-December-2009 Of the Swiss national languages (), 9,243 speak

, 17 people speak

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, 172 people speak

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and 22 people speak Romansh. The age distribution, , in Altstätten is; 1,296 children or 12.5% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 1,438 teenagers or 13.9% are between 10 and 19. Of the adult population, 1,337 people or 12.9% of the population are between 20 and 29 years old. 1,614 people or 15.5% are between 30 and 39, 1,410 people or 13.6% are between 40 and 49, and 1,300 people or 12.5% are between 50 and 59. The senior population distribution is 884 people or 8.5% of the population are between 60 and 69 years old, 689 people or 6.6% are between 70 and 79, there are 350 people or 3.4% who are between 80 and 89, and there are 62 people or 0.6% who are between 90 and 99, and 1 person who is 100 or more.Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen
accessed 30 December 2009 there were 1,323 persons (or 12.7% of the population) who were living alone in a private dwelling. There were 2,162 (or 20.8%) persons who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 5,673 (or 54.6%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 575 (or 5.5%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 68 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 37 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 49 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 494 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing. In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 41.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (28%), the SP (9.9%) and the FDP (9.4%). In Altstätten about 64.4% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory

upper secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...

''). Out of the total population in Altstätten, , the highest education level completed by 2,532 people (24.4% of the population) was

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, while 3,579 (34.5%) have completed Secondary, 905 (8.7%) have attended a

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

school, and 488 (4.7%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question. The historical population is given in the following table:

Religion

From the , 6,216 or 59.9% are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, while 2,050 or 19.7% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...

. Of the rest of the population, there are 12 individuals (or about 0.12% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 310 individuals (or about 2.99% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 152 individuals (or about 1.46% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 3 individuals (or about 0.03% of the population) who are

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and 762 (or about 7.34% of the population) who are

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic. There are 74 individuals (or about 0.71% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 468 (or about 4.51% of the population) belong to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 334 individuals (or about 3.22% of the population) did not answer the question.

Economy

, Altstätten had an unemployment rate of 2.17%. , there were 399 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 147 businesses involved in this sector. 2,675 people are employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...

and there are 152 businesses in this sector. 3,313 people are employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

, with 426 businesses in this sector. the average unemployment rate was 4.0%. There were 726 businesses in the municipality of which 148 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 443 were involved in the third. there were 3,302 residents who worked in the municipality, while 2,025 residents worked outside Altstätten and 3,269 people commuted into the municipality for work.

Sights

The village of Altstätten as well as a concentration of castles, which is known as the ''Schlosslandschaft Ober/Unterrheintal'' and spans Altstätten,

Balgach Balgach is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Balgach is first mentioned about 890-91 as ''Palgaa''. Coat of arms The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is ''Pe ...

, Berneck and Marbach, is designated as part of the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

Sport

In the 1970s, Altstätten's football club, FC Altstätten founded in 1945, was at national league B level, and played in the premiership. Today the club plays in the 2. Liga.

Transport

Altstätten has two train stations: Altstätten Stadt, the eastern terminus of the Altstätten–Gais railway, and Altstätten SG, an intermediate stop on the Chur–Rorschach line with frequent local and long-distance service.

Notable people

18th century * (1728 in Altstätten – 1800) church architect * (1750 – 1800 in Altstätten) educationalist and knight of the pen, promoter and patron of Ulrich Bräker * Gallus Jacob Baumgartner (1797 in Altstätten – 1869) a Swiss statesman and prominent federalist 19th century *

Wilhelm Matthias Naeff Wilhelm Matthias Naeff (19 February 1802 – 21 January 1881) was a Swiss politician and one of the seven initial members of the Swiss Federal Council (1848–1875). Naeff was born in Altstätten into a long-established Rhine-Valley's family. Alr ...

(1802 in Altstätten – 1881) a Swiss politician and one of the seven initial members of the

Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the Federal Council is by convention a permanent grand co ...

(1848–1875) *

Carl Eugen Keel Carl Eugen Keel (1885–1961) was a Swiss painter. He is principally known for his woodcuts, usually portraying town life, and often hand-coloured. He also produced oil paintings, watercolours, wood carvings, lino cuts and wrought iron sculptures ...

(1885 in Altstätten – 1961) a Swiss expressionistic painter, principally known for his woodcuts * Ferdinand Gehr (1896 – 1996 in Altstätten) a Swiss painter 20th century * Paul Baumgartner (1903 in Altstätten – 1976) a Swiss pianist * Roland Rino Büchel (born 1965), Swiss businessman and politician * (born 1946 in Altstätten) politician and Swiss folk-musician *

Gardi Hutter Gardi Hutter (born 5 March 1953 in Altstätten) is a Swiss Clown-comedian, author, actress and Cabaret artist and a clown of the classical rule. Life and career Born on 5 March 1953 in Altstätten, Canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland, Gardi Hut ...

(born 1953 in Altstätten) a Swiss clown, comedian, author, actress and Cabaret artist *

Marcel Gisler Marcel Gisler (born 18 March 1960) is a Swiss film director and screenwriter. Life Marcel Gisler was raised in the Canton of St. Gallen. Since 1981 he lives in Berlin and studied Theatre studies and Philosophy at the Free University of Berlin w ...

(born 1960) a Swiss film director and screenwriter IMDb Database
retrieved 15 February 2019 * Jasmin Hutter (born 1978 in Altstätten) a Swiss politician, serves on the

National Council of Switzerland The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...

Sport * Yvonne Elkuch (born 1968 in Altstätten) a Liechtenstein cyclist, competed in the

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

and

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

* Nagwa El Desouki (born 1971 in Altstätten) a Swiss Olympic slalom canoer *

Lars Burgsmüller Lars Burgsmüller (born 6 December 1975) is a German former professional tennis player. Burgsmüller reached a career-high ATP Tour, ATP singles ranking of world No. 65, achieved on 18 February 2002. He also reached a career high ATP doubles ran ...

(born 1975) a former German tennis player, lives in Altstätten *

Rainer Schüttler Rainer Schüttler (; born 25 April 1976) is a German former professional tennis player. Schüttler was the runner-up at the 2003 Australian Open and a semifinalist at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships. He won an Olympic silver medal in doubles ...

(born 1976) a retired German professional tennis player, lives in Altstätten *

Ivo Heuberger Ivo Heuberger (born 19 February 1976) is a retired tennis player who represented Switzerland at the Davis Cup. Early life Ivo Heuberger was born in the small town of Altstätten, Switzerland on 19 February 1976. He began his tennis career after m ...

(born 1976 in Altstätten) a retired tennis player who represented Switzerland at the Davis Cup *

Remo Lütolf Remo Lütolf (born 18 February 1980) is a Swiss breaststroke swimmer who won four medals at European and World championships in 1999, 2000 and 2003. He also competed in three events at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympic ...

(born 1980 in Altstätten) a Swiss breaststroke swimmer, competed in the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

* Marc Benz (born 1982 in Altstätten) a Swiss racing driver *

Daniela Casanova Daniela Casanova (born 14 May 1984) is a former tennis player from Switzerland. She achieved career-high WTA rankings of 456 in singles on 8 July 2002 and 402 in doubles on 17 June 2002. She won two singles titles and four doubles titles on the ...

(born 1984 in Altstätten) a Swiss former professional tennis player *

Myriam Casanova Myriam Casanova (born 20 June 1985) is a former tennis player from Switzerland. She was ranked as high as No. 45 on the WTA Tour in singles and won one WTA singles title in her career. In doubles, she reached the semi-finals of the 2003 US Ope ...

(born 1985 in Altstätten) a Swiss former professional female tennis player *

Stefan Frei Stefan Frei (born 20 April 1986) is a Swiss professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. Born in Switzerland, Frei moved with his fam ...

(born 1986 in Altstätten) a Swiss football goalkeeper, has played all his professional career in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

Martin Rechsteiner Martin Rechsteiner (born 15 February 1989) is a former association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), right back. Born in Switzerland, he represented the Liechtenstein national football team, Liechtenstein natio ...

(born 1989 in Altstätten) a Liechtensteiner international footballer, 150 club caps and 39 for

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

* Orhan Ademi (born 1991 in Altstätten) a Swiss footballer, over 200 club caps *

Gabriel Lüchinger Gabriel Lüchinger (born 18 December 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the ...

(born 1992 in Altstätten) a Swiss footballer, about 175 club caps

References

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altstatten Cities in Switzerland Municipalities of the canton of St. Gallen